I have attempted some various fruit wines in the past with good results. That being said, i have yet. To make a batch of cider. It is out of season right now so fresh juice is out of the question. I plan to use a 100% from concentrate juice, but am having difficulty finding anything unpasteurized. is the pasteurization going to interfere with fermentation?

pasteurized just means that one way or another all the micro organisms in the juice have been killed. Pasteurized juice is a great place to start.

__________________- "It's all about time. You can't rush perfection. Time TIME TIME!!! You either need to pay on the front end or the rear. If the batch ferments out fast you need to secondary age or bottle age it. If it ferments out slow... months not weeks, then you don't have to age it nearly as long to get good flavors. Either way time is the key when making ciders and wines."

well I thought Lalvin EC-1118, or red Star champagne yeast> I know both very different. But I cant make up my mind. Im not sure If I want a dry cider? never had it before??? But even in the end couldnt I add some sugar before bottling to get it sweeter and force carbonation? with the champagne yeast???

You can add before bottling like you said, but it can wind up fermenting out the sugar in the bottle and then you will still have a dry cider. I've found that juice concentrate produces off flavors when I add sugar before bottling. It goes away with time. I get solid results with a wheat beer yeast, which finishes slightly sweeter. That with an organic juice has been amazing.

You can add before bottling like you said, but it can wind up fermenting out the sugar in the bottle and then you will still have a dry cider.

If it is fermenting all the sugar out in the bottle you are not back-sweetening you are priming. Most people who back sweeten raise the SG at least .015 and it only takes .002 to get good co2 levels. If it ferments out more sugar than that than bottle bombs can result which is why a carbonated, back-sweetened cider should be pasteurized when the desired co2 level has been reached.

Quote:

Originally Posted by caincider

Or you can stick with the concentrated juice and champagne yeast. If the cider is too dry while drinking, just add a teaspoon or so of sugar to your pint before drinking.

It has been my experience that unless you are planning to age it at least 6 months, adding sugar alone to sweeten the cider is a bad idea. Instead of a full bodied sweet cider you taste dry cider and sugar, two unmarried and distinct flavors. Not only will adding sugar by the glass create this result but if the cider is carbonated the act of adding the sugar will also cause much of the co2 to leave the cider so you end up with flat cider at which point you could have stabilized, back-sweetened, bottled and aged for a similar yet superior result. IMHO

__________________- "It's all about time. You can't rush perfection. Time TIME TIME!!! You either need to pay on the front end or the rear. If the batch ferments out fast you need to secondary age or bottle age it. If it ferments out slow... months not weeks, then you don't have to age it nearly as long to get good flavors. Either way time is the key when making ciders and wines."

.002 is not going to make that much of a flavor difference. Assuming you are bottling a sweet cider, yes bottle than heat pasteurize once the desired co2 has been reached. cold will not pasteurize. all it does is slow the yeast activity.

__________________- "It's all about time. You can't rush perfection. Time TIME TIME!!! You either need to pay on the front end or the rear. If the batch ferments out fast you need to secondary age or bottle age it. If it ferments out slow... months not weeks, then you don't have to age it nearly as long to get good flavors. Either way time is the key when making ciders and wines."